Imperio and Empire
by VanillaVanilline
Summary: As long as he had her warm body almost every single night, he continued to live under his new identity. Draco Malfoy, the Darkest Lord of All Times. Her name was Hermione Granger. She was the most respected and feared Mudblood. And this… …Was her story.
1. Help me

**Hi :) So this is my first Dramione… I really hope you like it :)**

 **This is going to be pretty dark, to be honest, so I'll rate it M for dark themes, descriptive sexual content and other dark, graphic material, so reader's discretion is advised. With this warning, I hereby will not be responsible of any offenses that might be taken while reading.**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of the characters are owned by J. K. Rowling.**

 **Let's get started with the chapter, shall we? :D**

 **Enjoy your reading! x**

 **Imperio and Empire**

 **Chapter I: Help me.**

Her eyes were empty. Her face's reflection in the mirror looked like the visage of a person that had been put under sick Yugo. She was being controlled against her will; that she knew. But when it came to hearing his voice, her body seemed to ignore what she wanted: To escape from that place. To escape from that man.

But she had no other choice, but to obey.

"If only you had made it any easier for me, my love…" Those bitter words reminded her so of the spell he had put on her.

The Imperius Curse.

He knew she had never loved him. Not after the atrocities he committed, which he was completely aware of, had reduced her heart into blackish ashes. But as long as she obeyed and faked all of her emotions, he never cared. – As long as he had her warm body almost every single night, he continued to live under his new identity.

Draco Malfoy, the Darkest Lord of All Times.

Her name was Hermione Granger. She was the most respected and feared Mudblood. And this…

…Was her story.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

It had been this only one-night stand. And he felt that had been the biggest mistake of his life. He blamed himself, and every time his glance crossed the room, and saw the fire whiskey lying on the carpet, he did so even more.

The young man sat on the edge of the bed, his head resting in between his hands, in a moaning position. All of the three grunts he let out were heard around the big Prefects' master room, and they caught the attention of a certain brunette. She was lying on the same bed as him.

Their backs were facing each other, just to avoid one another's guilty stares. What had they done? Why did they do it? Those were exactly the questions crossing their minds, as they simply lay there. Silently.

Memories of the night before began to invade their senses.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

 _And there they lay, on the carpet: Two glasses by each of their sides, the two Gryffindors were drinking to forget about the roughness of those dark times. And if it wasn't enough, Harry had gotten into some serious relationship trouble that evening._

 _Both of them seemed to be distracted by the flames of the fireplace as they talked. After a couple of hours, and a couple of drinks, he sighed._

" _I don't know, Hermione. I've talked to her about it. Many times. And it ends up in a horrible discussion. Every. Single. Time. I don't know what to do anymore."_

 _The boy with the emerald eyes poured himself another round of fire whiskey. His fourth._

" _You want to keep her from harm, Harry." She said, taking a sip of her drink. "As long as you know those are your intentions, anything you'll do is going to be-"_

" _-Fine, I know. I know." He sighed, "But it almost looks like she doesn't even want to understand that I'd be ending our relationship to protect her."_

 _She looked at him, as his fist met the floor in a rough, frustrated motion. She gasped a little._

" _Why? Why can't she understand that I cannot put her into that kind of pressure and worry? I want to set her free, I want to give her the chance to live a happy life! The life she deserves… I mean, look at me: A heartless murderer has been after me for years. I've been having horrendous nightmares, screaming and sweating while I was asleep. And when I finally wake up from these hellish dreams, the first thing I see is her scared face."_

" _Harry-"_

" _-Ginny's scared, Hermione. I don't only see that look on her face when I wake up from a nightmare. I see it constantly. She fears for me, and my life. But what if Voldemort plans on destroying every single person I love? He'd be after her, and he'd end up not only killing, but torturing her mercilessly. And I want her to be safe. And the only way for her to be safe is to be away from me."_

" _I know."_

 _Hermione felt his eyes on her. She took the last sip of her third glass of whiskey, put it aside, and came closer. Harry looked at her, as she started stroking his cheek very softly._

" _Help me, Hermione..."_

 _And then, their faces so close, as they felt each other's breaths on their lips, so warm and inviting… Their gazes intensified in such manner, and they melted in each other's kiss._

 _And they melted in each other's arms._

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

The sound of his steps leaving the room echoed in her head. The slight shriek of the closing door gave her goose bumps. Hermione looked at the clock on her night table: Half past six in the morning. It was her turn to get ready for the day, for she knew it was going to be rough.

Her slim figure stepped into the bath, and she tried to relax her muscles. The water was warm, its vapour was really therapeutic, yet it failed to loosen her up: She was as tense as the situation she was in, and her head was full of guilty thoughts. Ginny was supposed to be her best friend. Just like Harry. And now, she was going to lose them both.

Hermione shook her head, as she tried to make these thoughts fade away. She prayed for everything to end well. Of course, it was rather improbable, but hope died last. Maybe one day, if she was still alive, when the Magical War was just a distant memory, she'd forgive herself. And when the moment had come, Ginny and Harry could forgive her.

She found herself huffing at the improbability of that happening.

"Happy endings are only for fairy tales…" She mumbled to herself, "And I am not a princess."

All of a sudden, it hit her: What about Ron? Ginny was his sister. And sooner or later, she was going to find out. Her heart would break; she'd have many tears to shed. And knowing Ronald as well as Hermione did, she knew his heart would crack into thousands of tiny pieces, too.

Her head resting on her knees, as her arms braced her legs, the Gryffindor sobbed.

"Fuck…"

She thought about Harry. Surely he'd tell Ginny, but she was sure he'd talk to her before he did that. The girl wondered: Would he be angry as he talked? Saddened, maybe? Anxious? Depressed? Insecure?

Another sigh escaped her: Harry would probably tell her everything had been a big mistake, and that it was better not to keep any further contact.

For Ginny. Because he loved her like a madman.

"Fuck!" She swore again.

Harry loved Ginny with his entire heart. And he loved Hermione as well, yet in a very different way. And because of that night, no matter how things went; no matter whether Harry told Ginny or not, something in his heart would sting and burn with guilt. Guilt he would carry his entire life. And so he would be forever hurt. And she was sure he already was.

That speculation made her feel terribly anxious.

Hermione closed her eyes, trying to calm down. She breathed in and out, slowly. The water touched her skin, as its vapour pampered it. Finally, the slightest sign of relax appeared. Yet suddenly, the events of the prior night invaded her mind.

" _Help me, Hermione..."_

" _Help me, Hermione..."_

" _Help me, Hermione…"_

His plead echoed in her ears and caused her to blush. She couldn't deny she felt aroused by his imploring voice. And neither could she deny herself that little, guilty pleasure…

Her desire grew enormously within a second. One of her fingers started caressing her intimacy. Softly, slowly increasing the intensity with every minute passing by.

" _Help me, Hermione..."_

"Help me, Harry…"

And with one last moan, she came.

Never had she felt so guilty.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

 **AAAALRIGHT! I'll leave it there for this chapter. I know it can be pretty confusing, considering I said this was a Dramione, and not a Harmony… But you'll see the connection in further chapters, I promise! x**

 **I really hope you liked it! :) Let me know what you think in the reviewing section, please, I'd highly appreciate it! xxx**

 **Byeee! x - VanillaVanilline**


	2. Nothing is all right

Weeeeell hello there x

First of all, thank you for your response on the first chapter! It makes me so happy to know people like my story so far. And I've only just begun! There's still a lot to enjoy! :)

So, I'll make this little warning again, just to be sure: This is going to be pretty dark, to be honest, so I'll rate it M for dark themes, descriptive sexual content and other dark, graphic material, so reader's discretion is advised. With this warning, I hereby will not be responsible of any offenses that might be taken while reading.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of the characters are owned by J. K. Rowling.

Oh, and by the way! I know this still looks like a Harmony, but trust me, it's not. This will hopefully become clear either in this chapter or in the following one. I beg for you to have patience! :)

Let's get started with the chapter, shall we? :D

Enjoy your reading! x

Imperio and Empire

Chapter II: Nothing is all right.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

„ _The Union of Perfection and Imperfection, Purity and Impurity, Purebloods with Mudbloods, demonstrated with an heir, will create an Empire that will never perish."_

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

It was breakfast time. All students had already come to the Great Hall, and Professor Dumbledore had wished everyone a good start in the day.

While eating, Ginny was thinking about how something had been rather off with Harry that morning: His silence at the dining table was awkward. His answers had been rather short, and he hadn't even kissed her good morning. The ginger girl knew he had gone off somewhere, and she couldn't help but wonder… Did something happen?

"Is everything all right, Harry?"

The boy was drinking some pumpkin juice as he nodded his head to answer her question. And as he did, he never took his eyes off Hermione. She sat in front of him, and her silence was just as uncomfortable as his: Her eyes were staring at some spot of the table, and the fork she held was poking the food on her plate.

Harry wanted to slightly kick Hermione under the table for her to notice him, but he got distracted when Ron arrived. As usual, he had overslept and had to rush over to the Great Hall to get something to eat. – His red hair messy, and his face still really sleepy, Ronald grabbed a toast and stuffed it into his mouth. That seemed to lighten up the mood.

"Ron, that's disgusting!" Ginny whined, "Mum always tells you to eat properly, even if you're in a rush!"

"Yes, but what can I say? I've only two minutes until breakfast time is over, and eating is not permitted in class! I could always eat during the break," Ron explained, "But my 'lovely friends' never get me anything to fill my stomach!"

That had been the first laugh of the day. Whilst it seemed to last longer for the rest of their friends, Harry and Hermione had been able to only enjoy a couple of seconds: As their gazes met, it was clear to both of them they had to talk.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

At the time Dumbledore sent everyone off to their respective classes, a certain blonde snake was headed to the library. He had two free periods on a row, and that was more than enough time for him to do some research for the day.

It had cost him his childhood and his teenage years. Those had been many years of constant punishment and agony. Many years having to deal with humiliation, with comments on how he was weak and useless. And many years having to witness scenes any child should ever see. He had patiently waited for one day to come in which he'd find a solution to his problem. And finally, _finally_ , after so much hurt and pain, the day had come. Draco Malfoy had found a way to take Lord Voldemort's life.

In his research, which had been long and exhaustive, the Slytherin had read something about "The Prophecy". – Of course he knew about how "neither can live if the other survives". And Draco knew it was related to Potter and the Dark Lord's fates. But what he had read about his "Prophecy" had nothing to do with the other one.

Draco had heard about Horcruxes as well, and he had to thank Potter for that. His stupidity had been so enormous, to talk about it to Weasley in a corridor. –Yes, they may have whispered, and Draco hadn't understood every single word of their conversation, but the keyword 'Horcrux' had been more than enough. Of course, he still did some intense research on those magic items.

His steps finally arrived to the library. Now, as a Prefect, Draco had the permission to enter the Restricted Section, so that Madame Pince didn't represent him any threat. He went decisively towards the door that separated both sections, and entered the Prohibited.

"The Prophecy, The Prophecy…" He muttered, "Let's see… Ah, ' _About Prophecies and Unforgivables'_ , by the Ministry of Magic. There it is."

And so Draco read, and read, and read… Until he finally had to leave the library.

As Madame Pince saw him leaving, she had to reckon: The smirk on his face had been terrifying.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…

Class was over.

 _Finally_.

The day had been uncomfortable, stressful, awkward, frustrating and incredibly tense: Ginny had asked too many questions, and Harry wasn't as responsive as he should have been. To top it off, every time he had asked Hermione to talk, she avoided him instantly.

" _This is either the right moment nor the right place to talk about it, Harry."_ She had said. Fair enough, they had been crossing the corridors amongst all other students, and they could have been easily overheard. But he was _so_ annoyed at the fact that she _constantly_ tried to evade that subject!

So, finally, after lunch, they decided to go for a walk. Neither of them wanted to talk about the night they had shared, but they knew it was the best thing to do. – The day was grey, it had been raining, and it was windy. Autumn could be very beautiful, yet so very sad at the same time.

Silence overwhelmed them both. It felt so unnatural. So… utterly distant.

"It's pretty nostalgic when leafs fall onto the floor, don't you think?" Hermione was the one to break the ice, "My mother liked to compare that to the cycle of life. We are born, we grow up, and, sooner or later we die. We… go. And during the time we're here, we make decisions… Some of them are good, and some of them… are… mistakes."

Harry looked at her. His emeralds shone with sadness, somewhat frustration, hurt… And a very well hidden anger.

"This is a mistake we both have to fix, Hermione."

"I know."

They continued to walk; as they thought about the next sentence they would say. Both had to be very careful not to hurt each other's feelings, for that was easy. But there were so many questions on their minds: Why did they sleep together? Should they forget about it? How to go on from there? And the question that worried Hermione to no end was: Did Harry hate her?

"You didn't seduce me, Hermione." Harry told her, shaking his head, as if he had read her mind. His voice somewhat calmed her down. "We drank a lot last night. And I was pretty desperate that I didn't know how to deal with-"

"-Ginny, yes, I know." Hermione let out a long, tired sigh, "Are… Are you going to tell her?"

He put his hands into his pockets and slightly shrugged.

"I don't know." He truthfully answered, "I've already got the feeling I've hurt her enough, even before yesterday. I've been rather hard to deal with lately, especially with her. Telling her now would be… I don't know."

Hermione's eyes glanced in his direction. They showed curiosity and regret, a part from all the other feelings that rushed through her heart.

"I didn't know it was so bad…"

"She didn't understand and we argued a lot. And like I told you, I wanted to break up with her. Maybe… Well, who knows. Maybe last night was something that was meant to happen anyway."

Hermione didn't leave a comment to his statement. She felt so guilty, and somehow, so incredibly dirty… She felt like she had betrayed Ginny, her relationship with Harry, and herself. For her, that was never meant to happen. – At least, not in those circumstances.

Minutes passed by, and they were standing in front of the entrance, alone. Harry reached for her hand, and looked at her. His features were serious: His facial expression was stern, obviously remarked by his eyebrows and the fine line his lips created.

"Would you tell her?" He asked.

"I don't think I could ever look at her in the eyes again if I didn't, Harry." Hermione said, while letting go of his hand, "I've already disrespected her by sleeping with you, at least, I owe her an explanation."

Harry looked down to the ground, kicked a tiny stone with his foot, and mumbled something.

"Harry", Hermione called out for him, "I love her like a sister. I'm scared of her reaction, and I'm scared of the consequences. But I owe her that. It's the least that I can do to try and fix _this_."

Hermione waited for his answer. She knew it was something really difficult, more on him than it was on her, considering Ginny had told her once Harry was the love of her life. And having to break her heart like that… She hated the thought of it. But if her heart was to be broken, she at least deserved to know why.

After a long silence, Harry finally spoke.

"You're right." The Boy-Who-Lived sighed out in exasperation and sadness, "I'll talk to her."

"No." Hermione said, as she approached him and hugged him tightly, " _We'll_ talk to her. Everything's going to be all right."

But neither of them believed those words: _Nothing_ was all right.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

SOOOOO! There you are! Here's the second chapter! I really, really hope you enjoyed it! :) x

Be so kind and sweet to leave me some feedback! x Favs/Follows/Reviews, everything makes me so happy and keeps me motivated to keep on writing! :) x

Again, thank you so much for your support!

Until next chapter! xxx ~ VanillaVanilline


	3. A Spell

Hiiiii! Omg, sorry for updating so late! There's a lot been going on lately! Hope you can understand it guys!

First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your INCREDIBLE SUPPORT! Really, thank you, thank you, thank you SO MUCH! It really keeps me going! :) x

So, I hope this keeps on going :) Let me know what you think in the comment section! :) x

A BUNCH OF KISSES FOR YOU ALL, GUYS! :) x

Enjoy your reading! x

Imperio and Empire

 _Chapter III: A spell._

 _~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~_

„ _He who has risen, will be taken by the hand of the less awaited. Rapidly, mercilessly, tenaciously. Time is nothing, but a mere illusion: Be hurried, for the next king of darkness is about to prosper."_

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

They had told her to sit down.

She didn't know what to say. How to react–, how to work with all those feelings that were rushing through her entire body at that very moment. She felt her pulse rapidly beating in her burning ears; the water coming up to her eyes was building. She was trying to hold it back with all of her strength. – In vain: Harry Potter had broken her heart. It shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. And Ginny Weasley was the one to pick them up and put them all together again.

The Ginger Girl didn't know whether she would be alive until she had recovered. A war was going on. And since her only reason to stay alive had gone… Whom would she live for?

"Ginny…" The other girl whispered, "I'm so ashamed… I feel so awfully sor-"

Weasley's hand went up in the air at once, in a cutting motion. She took in a deep breath before speaking. Even so, her tone was rather dangerous, within all the hurt in her voice.

"-Save it." Ginny interrupted Hermione, "It's all been a lie. My love for Harry, my friendship with you… ironically, I knew it was going to end this way. It was so obvious, and I was so blind."

Harry looked at her, his emerald eyes somewhat in shock. What did she mean, 'It was so obvious'?

"I'm broken. You've broken me." She looked at them both, anger reflected in her irises, "Both of you."

"Please…" The boy pleaded, "I-"

Ginny snapped.

"You? You!? I'll tell _you_ what: _You_ have fucked Hermione." The despise in her voice was so horrendously hurtful, but she didn't know any better, "And, _please?_ Please what, Harry? 'Please don't make me feel guilty, I wanted to break up with you anyway'?"

A tear rolled down Hermione's cheek. Harry's eyes were watery. And Ginny's were flaming with the anger of a fire that could not be tamed. – She was angry, no, furious. The Ginger was in total disbelief, as a question ran through her mind: Why? Why?

 _WHY?!_

Harry breathed in, slowly and carefully, as if not trying to make the situation any worse. He knew perfectly that it wasn't possible, at least, not probable that he even had the chance to make things better, but he _had_ to try. He owed her that.

"Ginny, please, listen to me." The boy pleaded, "I know you're furious, and you've got every god damn right to be. But please, listen: I know what we did was very utterly wrong and-"

"-What you did was wrong, but what I did was even worse."

Harry and Hermione both raised their eyebrows. What was Ginny implying? What could be worse than cheating?

"What…"

And then, Ginny broke down into tears. Her heart was bleeding at such speed; it was not comprehensible for neither of them. It hurt so badly: It felt like a million knives stabbing through her core; it felt like ice taking away the fire of the love Ginny had thought she felt for The Boy Who Lived. The knot in her oesophagus was an enormous hindrance for her to breathe normally; her stomach was shaken and unsettled. She felt the urge to vomit. - Her skin felt cold at the simple touch of air; it was as if it could be cut really easily. Her jaw was not under control, and she trembled and stuttered for a while. – Her mind was completely chaotic; more than a thousand thoughts collided and crashed with one another, not letting her think logically. Ginny was pushed by rage, anger, hurt.

Finally, her lips managed to build a coherent sentence.

"-I stayed here and trusted you."

A loud silence embraced the room after Harry and Hermione had gasped. And with no more words, just a simple glance, Ginny made her point clear: She wanted them to leave…

…And never come back.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

It had been so awful. – It had hurt so fucking much.

Whilst heading to the Prefects Common Room, Harry and Hermione couldn't help but shed endless tears for Ginny. They had lost her. Forever. There was no going back. The guilt was eating them both from the inside out, and they simply couldn't handle the pressure.

Just when they were about to take one further step, a blonde snake crossed their ways. He smirked.

"Oi, if it isn't The Boy Who Wouldn't Fucking Die and the Bookworm Know-It-All," Draco mocked, "Why the long faces? Has old Slughorn not given you an extraordinary for your potions exam, and now you're all sad?"

Hermione grunted, seemingly annoyed. – Draco saw the fire in her coffee eyes: It was something rather untameable, a flame that would never perish. He thought it was so irresistible for a filthy, little mudblood like her. So sexy, in a way.

"Sod the fuck off, Malfoy." She snapped, "Not in the mood for your shit."

The smirk on his face grew wider, as he took a couple of steps closer to her. They were face to face, and Draco almost had the urge to grab her by the waist.

"Oooh, touchy, aren't we, Granger?" Malfoy said, "If it's not Slughorn you're upset about… what's got your knickers in a twist, mmm?"

The Brightest Witch of Her Generation gasped at his sight. When did Malfoy get so close? His mercury eyes were like almost penetrating into her soul, they were so dominant… She felt herself almost lost in them, luckily, she snapped out of it in time. She couldn't help, but wonder…: When did Malfoy become so manly? And, above all, when did Malfoy get so… so handsome?

 _WHAT?!_

Before she could even react, The Boy Who Lived grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her back. Then, he faced the Slytherin.

"You've heard what she said, Malfoy." There was something threatening in his voice, "Sod. _The fuck_. Off."

Their enemy-enemy eye contact made Draco realise: Potter had been crying. – Of course, he wouldn't be so idiotic to ask him why, for he was clever enough to understand that he had been having some trouble with his girl. – And after he had been reading that interesting book back in the library, suddenly the blonde was coming up with some ideas.

So, deciding to simply let it go, Malfoy shrugged.

"Fine, Potter. I'll leave it be, only this one time. But watch your language when you're talking to a Prefect. Wouldn't want your precious Dumbledore to hear bad news about you." He stated, "I was off to do something more important, anyway. Have fun with whatever you're going to be up to."

Then, the snake turned his head to the lioness.

"Oh, and Granger…" His voice made her gasp a little, "I'll be seeing you around... for our midnight rounds."

And with those words, he turned around and left. Hermione couldn't help but blush. Did Draco Malfoy just _wink_ at her?

It left her thinking, again, while going the last steps to the common room: His silvery eyes… It looked like they were trying to put her under a spell.

"A spell…" She whispered, voicelessly. "A spell…"

Hermione swallowed: A spell. Something told her that the beginning of her end was nigh.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

Sooooo, my lovelies! Here you go, a brand new chappie! :) I really, really hope you liked it! :)

Yes, I know, it's been kind of short, I'll try and write longer ones, I promise! :) x

Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your INCREDIBLE SUPPORT! Really, thank you, thank you, thank you SO MUCH! It really keeps me going! :) x

So, I hope this keeps on going :) Let me know what you think in the comment section! :) x

Favs and Follows are very much appreciated! x

A BUNCH OF KISSES FOR YOU ALL, GUYS! :) x

Youuuuurs, VanillaVanilline~~~


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